Wichita eagle., 1887-06-01
ROCKY FORD.
Bound to be the Finest Little City in the
Arkansas Valley.

Arkansas Valley.
To the Editor OF the Eagle:
Rocky Ford is beautiful little cit
thirty days old, and has now population
of some three hundred inhabitants, locate,
300 miles west Of the glorious metropoli
of the state of Kansas, Wichita.
! Rocky Ford is destined to be goot
healthy city in the near future. There
nothing to hold her back; she has ever,
natural advantage in the world, and more
really, than natural advantages. for tn
system of irrigation is more than natural
1t secures them abundant crops whether /
rains or not, and if there is any one thing
in Colorado that looks finer when growing
than other vegetation, it is the immense
fields of alfalfa.
Mr.. G. W. Swink, the gentleman who sold
the Rocky Ford Town Company their land
has beautiful field of alfalfa; in fact it is
one hundred and sixty acres of the finest
alfalfa we have ever had the pleasure OF
seeing. Mr.. Swink is an old timer. He
came to Colorado fourteen years ago and
has been working faithfully for the up
building and good of the country in gen
eral. He has very fine garden of vege
tables which is supplied with water from
the Catlin canal. and tell you it does look
fine to see the water ripping through the
various small trenches in the garden. Mr..
Swink has about twelve hundred acres OF
land adjoining the town site and is stocked
up to the letter. E. T. Steele is partner
of Mr.. Swink in all his city property. Mr..
Steele was until year ago an extensive
cattle raiser, bnt owing to the great mum
Der of people who are coming west and
settling up the country he made up his
mind to locate at place where
there would some day be large city
and that was at Rocky Ford. Through
the kindness of Mr.. Snider & Seely, of
LaHunta, the writer accepted an invitation
to visit their little city, and on our way
back to Wichita concluded to stop off at
Lamar We did so, accompanied by our
friend, Mr. Frank B. Walker. of Wichita,
and there found one among the best towns
in Southeastern Colorado, where we meet
a great many very genial business men,
among which was Mr.. ]. E. Godding,
manager of the Lamar Town company,
and when he found was headed Wichita
ward Gays here you should visit young
and thriving town few miles west. So
of course we accepted the invitation and
are glad that we did Mr.. Godding is one
Of the men who has stayed with Lamar
and worked with her best citizens for the
best interests of Lamar, and now MIR. God
ding is interested in several places in Col
orado, and in fact gentleman who the
public can rely upon.
We had the pleasure of driving through
the country from La Junta to Rocky Ford
with Mr.. j. E. Godding; and there is where
you will see some beautiful country. The
belt of fine farming land adjacent to Rocky
Ford is about twenty five miles square.
And alfalfa, no one knows about the i'm
mense crops they do raise. they NOW it
three times year and it yields ali average
of five tons per acre season, and they get
from six to eight dollars a ton, making
their crop average them about $35 per acre.
What is there on earth can we raise that
will beat it! And why is it that our Sedg-
wick county farmers don't take hold Of
this wonderful hay producing seed?
Rocky Ford has a great number of bust
ness buildings in course of erection and
many others under contract. Among the
fine buildings which are being
built is very fine brick bank
building two stories with fifty and one
hundred feet front. Seven Office rooms on
the second floor, the State Bank of Rocky
Ford will occupy the building when com
pleted. J. NJ. Hendricks & Bro. are build
ing fine two story brick store building
which they will occupy as soon as it can
possibly be completed. Mr.. Hendricks &
Bro are old timers and very successful
merchants. Descent & Decker are a couple
of fine young men and are enjoying good
trade in real estate and loan business.
Messrs. Godding & Steele are the managers
of the Rocky Ford Town Co., Mr.. I. P.
Godding is brother of j. E. Godding at
Lamar. E. T. Steele is an old time Colo
RADIO boy, he has been in Colorado seven
teen years, and has formerly lived in Den
yer. Those gentlemen are always ready to
grant any favors that they can consistently.
Tanner & Moline are opening first
class drug store, and aside from that are
fitting up a billiard and pool parlor.
Reed g. Igo are the leading lumber men
of Rocky Ford, and they report lively
business and say that they will sell more
material in the next sixty days than will be
sold in half dozen other towns Of like
size.
H. V. Alexander is starting weekly
paper. He will print the first issue about
June 8, and no doubt it will be bright
sheet.
The Santa Fe people are building pas